Tougher Than The Rest
by GleeGeneration23
Summary: How did Hermione Granger go from the lonely little girl who loved books a little too much to part of the most famous trio in Wizarding History? This is the story of Hermione's first year at Hogwarts in which she fights a troll, makes friends, and takes on one of the darkest wizards of all time.
1. Chapter One

**Hi so here is another story, my first multi-chapter Harry Potter story. This is based on one of my all time favourite characters Hermione Granger and one of the earliest heroine's that I ever had.**

 **This story tells Hermione's first year at Hogwarts and will be about ten to twelve chapters. Most of the dialogue will be my own I don't want to take too much from the book but there will be some overlap.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine all of it belongs to the queen J.K Rowling's**

 **Please Read and Review**

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Tougher Than The Rest

How did Hermione Granger go from the lonely little girl who loved books a little too much to part of the most famous trio in Wizarding History? This is the story of Hermione's first year at Hogwarts in which she fights a troll, makes friends, and takes on one of the darkest wizards of all time.

Chapter One-

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Nobody would ever say she was afraid.

Nobody would ever say she decided as she stood on the platform where the train in it's impressive scarlet colours was standing, that she Hermione Granger was afraid. She was not afraid of this journey, of this school, of these abilities she possessed.

Her parting with her parents was strangely painful. Hermione had known boarding school was on the cards for quite a while, all of her teachers had said she would gain without question a scholarship at some fancy private school but that was before Professor Minerva McGonagall turned up to explain to her that she was a witch, that she had magic, that the little things she swore she could do but disregarded because of impossible logic were true.

No longer she did she wonder why her clothes changed colour in the middle of the night or why she woke up in the early hours of the morning to see her stuffed rabbit doing some kind of a dance or why she mysteriously seemed to get out of PE by her teacher forgetting to ask her every week if she wanted to take part allowing her time to curl up in her primary school's small library with a book that should have been too advanced for her.

Now she had a reason for all of those strange happenings. Magic. And as illogical as it sounded to her it explained so much.

She was standing on this platform now watching with wide eyes these students, first years, last years and students going back to school, owls and broomsticks and flying golden balls, she had never seen anything like this, Hermione was sure that there was no book in the world that would describe what she was seeing right now.

She had dressed in her school robes this morning in the hotel. Her parents had travelled down and they had spent the night in the hotel to break up the drive. She had gotten changed then after cleaning her teeth, her mum had tried to convince her to wear her tartan skirt and red cardigan that were by far the best clothes that she owned but something in Hermione balked at the thought.

This was the start of her new life and she was more than ready, she had her wand in her book bag the smooth stick of wood that would define her education for the next seven years, that would define her life for the rest of the time that she was a witch. Good Grief she had never imagined she would be saying that.

Her mum and dad were talking to the porter who perhaps seeing two people who didn't have a clue what they were doing was generously helping them load up her trunk. Hermione took them in with one swoop of her eyes. Her mum and dad were taking it well she thought. The night she had been told that she was a witch had resulted in her parents opening what they called the 'Emergency Whiskey' and drinking half the bottle while she had sat there in her pyjama's trying to memorise Professor McGonagall's instructions as what to do when she got to this pub in London, 'The Leaky Cauldron'.

She swallowed again viewing the train as the warning whistle blew. This was her moment, her battle cry, this was the moment where her life changed for the better.

She hoped that she would make friends, deep down that was what she hoped for. Hermione had managed to maintain civil relationships with her friends from primary school, there was Jessica and Jennifer, Juliette, and Niamh but they were friends to sit with at lunchtime they were not friends that she talked with a lot outside of school, she had never had a best friend she realised. Not someone that she could trust with her deepest darkest secrets.

She was hoping that she could find friends in this new school, in this brand-new world she was heading into, in this brave new world that she would become a part of. A part of her wanted nothing more to do than to crawl under the covers in her old room and pretend that this wasn't happening but a part of her wanted to get on that train in equal measure and find out how to harness these powers of hers.

Her mum came back to her side then and Hermione watched her clutching the strap of her book bag closer for comfort. Her mum had given her this bag when she had gone to Diagon Ally, it was she had said almost shyly-a taste of her normal life in a decidedly unnormal world. It was tan leather and the buckles were shiny and in it Hermione had two books, her well-worn novel 'Pride and Prejudice' and her latest read out of all of her Hogwarts school books so adeptly named 'Hogwarts-A History'.

Right now she looked as nervous as Hermione felt, and that was saying something she knew.

"You have your jumper in case you get cold?" her mum asked and Hermione decided not to point our that it was pointless because she was wearing her Hogwarts jumper under her robes and therefore wouldn't get cold but she nodded and her mum's face relaxed somewhat even though her hands were still nervously clutching the air next to Hermione's shoulder.

The whistle blew and her father who came back breathing heavily as if lifting a trunk had tired him out smiled.

"All aboard darling" he said dropping a kiss onto the top of her hair. Hermione smiled at him and when her mum pulled her into a hug she squeezed her back just as hard trying to remember this feeling of being safe in her parent's arms because she knew that this would have to sustain her through the next four months until Christmas when she could see them again.

She climbed onto the train not looking back and made her way to what looked like an empty compartment, well…there was a boy already sat there what looked like a toad in his hands and looking even more nervous than her mum. She sat down and his eyes darted around the compartment nervously her smile apparently not doing much to deal with his nerves.

"Hello" he mumbled finally dropping the toad onto the seat next to him and shooting her another nervous look and then he dropped his eyes to his knees and something in Hermione took pity on him and she felt herself smiling back. "Hi" she said brightly.

"My name's Hermione Granger this is my first year at Hogwarts, I was ever so surprised when Professor McGonagall came and told me I was a witch but I am really excited to see Hogwarts for the first time aren't you? What's your name?"

The boy blinked. Hermione knew she had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous but she got the impression that she had spoken so fast this boy had no idea what she was saying. After a second's pause he spoke and his voice was so quiet she had to strain her ears to hear him.

"My name is Neville Longbottom" he said finally before ducking his head away his cheeks pink. "I've known about Hogwarts for a while, my Gran's a witch and I live with her" he said finally in a rush as if he had no choice but to say what was in his mind once the thought was there.

She nodded in what she hoped was an encouraging way for him to continue.

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They chatted a little on the train journey. She learned Neville was what they called 'Pure-Blood' therefore having parents who were both wizards but she never learnt what happened to them as she thought it was impolite to ask. He did not seem to have a problem with her being what he called a 'Muggle-Born' shrugging his shoulders when she asked about the work and saying it was much the same in an ordinary school some were bright some were not which made her relax a little.

Hermione learned that Neville like plants and after some coaxing he asked her about muggle plants. She was telling him about the bouquets of flowers that you could buy and send through the post and Neville was finally interested in how you could keep them fresh and fragrant for weeks on end when his toad named Trevor promptly took advantage of the school trolley to hop his way out of the compartment.

Neville promptly ran off telling Hermione over his shoulder to use his money bags to pay for their sweets and the older woman perhaps seeing a muggle born student helped her to pick out six sickles and three knuts to pay for the selection that they had chosen including pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, jelly slugs and cauldron cakes. She turned to pick out a book and after much deliberation chose 'Pride and Prejudice' there was plenty of times that she could read her magical books when she got to the school.

She had just gotten to the part where Mr Darcy was professing his love for Elizabeth when the door to the trolley opened up and she saw Neville come back in his face flushed and near tears. She dropped her book. "Have you lost him?" she said in a kind voice-or what she hoped was one. Neville nodded looking tearful.

Something in Hermione's heart went out for him and she dropped her book. "Come on" she said finally. "Let's go find him then"

The first compartment that she came across had two boys in it. One had dark hair and round glasses and the other had red hair and dirt smeared up his nose. Both were chewing on sweets and the red headed boy was eating like he had been starved for days.

She introduced herself and Neville and learned that the boy with red hair was going to do magic. She had never seen magic up close except the spell that Professor McGonagall had used in order to convince her that magic was real. Compared to that spell she thought the one the red headed boy was using seemed to be nothing more than a joke and she told him so before her brain could catch up with her mouth.

The red head scowled at her, his name she learned was Ron Weasley but the black haired bespectacled boy she learnt was Harry Potter responsible for the death of the darkest wizard ever known in wizarding history whose name she didn't know because it seemed no book ever wanted to publish it.

She didn't understand that. Hermione's dad had always told her that 'fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself' but she understood from her reading that this wizard who this boy in front of her had defeated had done unspeakable things.

She pointed out that he was famous in all of the books that she had read to which he gazed at her blankly with those green eyes. Hermione wondered if he actually knew what had happened to him, if what had happened the night 'He Who Must Not Be Named' instead she decided not to comment on it and once they ascertained that neither one of them had seen the toad she turned and took Neville with her down the corridor in search of that damn toad.

She left Neville talking to the conductor about his toad and she turned to go back to the compartment and pack up their bags. She wanted nothing more to do than to sit back down and read but she wanted to go back to the boys and tell them that they better get changed.

Hermione came to the compartment just as a blonde boy was leaving, she couldn't see his face but from the way the other two bigger boys flanked him he was acting like they were his bodyguards.

The second conversation with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley was as bad as the first. Harry seemed very nice if quiet Hermione decided, if she was partnered with him in class she might like him. Ron Weasley on the other hand was both rude and irritating.

She stormed off to find her book and when she sat down she allowed the comforting words of Jane Austin to take her mind far away from boys with toads and red hair and haunted looks in their eyes.

Hermione didn't look up until Neville came back. She waited outside while he got changed and then he turned back to a plant he was carrying in his bag and she turned back to her book until the train conductor said on the loudspeakers that they were nearing Hogwarts.

She put down her book and clutched her bag strap excitedly.

There was nothing that was going to distract her from this year, from what she was going to learn at this school. Nothing.

As she stood there on the platform watching the other first year's plough forwards following a mysterious voice she thought just once that it was a shame that that boy with red hair was so rude.

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 **And let me know what you think. Next Chapter should be posted soon, let me know if you think this is an idea worth continuing. **


	2. Chapter Two

**Hi, so here is another chapter, I am so glad that you all liked the first. This story should run from 10-13 chapters and the next one will deal with the Midnight Duel and the first part of Halloween. This story is more focused on Hermione's feelings and thoughts rather than the dialogue as I don't want to copy too much.**

 **There might be a gap In updating simply because I am moving out soon and returning to school and it takes much more out of you than ya think.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine, it all belongs to the Queen of writing J.K Rowling.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Two-

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Hermione's first week was…interesting she had to admit. She found that although she was surprisingly good at most subjects she had the strangest professors imaginable.

Professor Minerva McGonagall was her head of house now she was sorted into Gryffindor and her transfiguration teacher. Transfiguration was a complex subject but it was one of those subjects that she loved because it was so complex. She loved it because it was full of numbers and letters and like a good puzzle you had to understand the theory to it before you put it into practice.

Charms was good as well. This was a great deal more practical and their professor was a tiny old wizard that Hermione liked on sight because he was immensely talented and didn't look it. Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Astrology were all good though they were not her favourite subjects but she held no dislike for them or their teachers even the funny turban headed man who always smelt of garlic and stuttered whenever Hermione asked him a question like she was about to whip her wand out and start shooting curses left, right and centre.

Finally, there was History of Magic and Potions. History of Magic was taught by a ghost which was not only disturbing but also incredibly dull. If Hermione was anything less than one hundred percent prepared for any exam she too would have put down her quill and laid her head on the parchment but she didn't.

Potions…potions were…complicated…she liked potions, she knew she was good at it but the teacher Professor Snape was…well…well there was no polite word to describe him. Seamus Finnigan a boy in her class and in her house called him a 'slick git' whenever he was mentioned in the common room and Hermione one more than one occasion had to clamp her teeth down on her bottom lip to stop sniggering with the others. Potions was a good lesson and she liked the idea of using different ingredients to make something that might one day save someone's life but…well…Professor Snape had said nothing against her abilities thus far so she was keeping her mind clear until he did.

She even liked her dorm mates. Lavender Brown had instantly made friends with Parvati Patil, Fay Dunbar who was a flying enthusiast and who was brown haired and always seemed to be up earlier than the rest of them, and then there was another girl Alice Toilpan who had a muggle father, owned a hairdryer and thankfully seemed to understand what Star Wars was which Hermione was grateful for if not a little bemused by the entire situation.

She liked Hogwarts, she really liked Hogwarts, she liked studying magic and she liked reading about these events that had shaped a history that had ran parallel to her own. The first week turned slowly into two weeks and then she was confronted with a new problem.

Flying.

Flying she could say with complete accuracy she was most definitely not looking forwards too.

Flying indicated at least to her that it was some kind of sport and sport was something that Hermione was not good at in the slightest.

She had tried reading up on it. But even the written research, the books (and there wasn't many of them) on the subject didn't seem to explain how the whole flying thing worked and therefore she was for the first time completely unprepared for something that so many of her fellow classmates seemed to not even worry about.

Even that Ron Weasley boy was talking animatedly about the time he had used his brother's broomstick and almost hit a hand glider though Hermione doubted that he knew what a hand glider was. Other students as well were gossiping about flying even the night before the lesson and she noted that with the exception of Neville Longbottom (who was so accident prone that she suspected walking might be a struggle for him) and Harry Potter who seemed to think that everything magical would inevitably turn out to be a struggle which was odd because Hermione knew he was actually rather good at magic.

That night she curled into her covers relieved that the four poster bed curtains gave her some semblance of privacy and tried not to worry that for the first time come morning she would be doing something that even for a magical school seemed impossible.

She ate little in the morning. In truth Hermione was not a big eater anyway. She had been smaller and skinnier than most girls in her old school and her parents had worked a lot when she was a child forcing her to wait for her meals until they could all sit down at the table together. However, she nibbled at some toast in the morning and tried not to let the smell of fried bacon turn her stomach already tight with nerves. That Ron Weasley was constructing a tower of fried foods supposed to be a sandwich and Harry Potter looking as nervous as she felt was watching him with what looked like amusement and disgust all at once.

They all spilled out onto the Quidditch field where stacks of broomsticks were lying on the ground. If she hadn't been so nervous Hermione would have laughed because all the cliché's you heard about magic, the broomstick was the most popular and now it seemed that it was true. A magical broomstick was really just that…a broomstick.

Madam Hooch was a strapping woman of a tall powerful build and eyes that surveyed you even when she wasn't looking at you. She was just the sort of women that you could imagine trying to control a load of teenagers on broomsticks flying hundreds of feet above you and she was also not a teacher Hermione realised that should be messed with.

They were instructed to shout 'UP' at their broomsticks and Hermione had never felt more stupid in her life. She had thought handling a wand for the first time was strange and illogical, it had nothing on this right there. If anyone from the Muggle World saw her now they would probably think that she was utterly mad.

She was immensely pleased to see Ron Weasley was struggling, Harry Potter of course had done it perfectly and Hermione was glad because she knew what low self-esteem looked like and Harry Potter was a walking definition for it straight out of the dictionary. He looked surprised that he had that sort of ability and had he not been friends with the rudest boy imaginable (or so it seemed at least to her right now) then she would have liked to have made friends with him.

The broom twitched again and Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Somehow, she didn't think flying was going to be her sport. Give her a good book, a cup of tea and some fuzzy socks any day.

The broomstick slammed into her hands and instinctively she felt her fingers close around it but she stopped blinking. Huh. She tested the weight of the wood in her hand and straddled it when told.

Yeah, she thought to herself, this was completely ridiculous. Right now, she would take muggle public transport in all its uncleanliness over this.

And then abruptly her mental complaining stopped because she saw so clearly that she couldn't take her eyes of it, Neville Longbottom rising like a white-faced ghost on a broomstick, terror on every inch of his face and the rest as some people say was history.

(On the plus side, at least someone was worse at this sport than she was)

But Neville was one of the few people she could talk too. He was quiet and so painfully shy but he was more than content to sit with her when the common room got to loud and in response to his quiet company she helped him out by reading his essays. Neville was quite good at magic at the theory and the composition as well as the practical stuff the problem was that he had no confidence but Hermione supposed your grandmother instructing your uncle to kick you off Blackpool Pier to see if your magic kicked in to save you from drowning probably damaged your confidence a bit.

So, Hermione was worried when he fell from his broomstick and snapped his wrist. If there was ever anything that cemented her belief that flying was a complete waste of time and utterly dangerous it was that. And it was there that she swore to herself she would not get on a broom unless she was in the direst circumstances ever. And it would have to be dire-like dark wizard after her dire for her to do it.

Harry Potter however did not feel the same way.

"What an idiot" she said to herself when she saw him take to the broom after some boy called Draco Malfoy that she didn't like but didn't have much interaction with him thus far. Ron Weasley who was stood next to her scowled but she noticed that he didn't immediately leap to his best friend's defence especially after he had rolled in the air and was speeding towards the ground at a speed that had he been in a car would have seen him arrested.

Harry Potter rolled over again dropped to the floor looking windblown and delighted and everyone rushed forwards to great him. Hermione would loath to admit it but what he had done made flying look easy and she found herself smiling at the dazed expression on his face. Even she felt the urge to pat him on the back because the look on Draco Malfoy's face was nothing short of hilarious.

But before she could get a chance to offer her own congratulations at not getting flattened on the courtyard floor Professor McGonagall turned up looking like she was going to whip her wand out and start cursing with little care to who was hit, and Hermione was suddenly very glad that she was on the opposite side of the group of students because she had a feeling that if the darkest wizard imaginable had been unable to kill Harry Potter then Professor McGonagall might just be able too.

Harry was swept off and with nothing to do the group went to the Great Hall for an early lunch. It was steak and kidney pie, carrots and some creamed potato with gravy for lunch and now that the whole flying thing was over Hermione helped herself to a bit of each and sat down she noted not far from Ron Weasley who was stabbing at his pie with anger.

"I'm sure Harry will be alright" she ventured finally.

Ron looked at her surprised coating his face and really? Did he ever wash? That mark on his nose was still there.

"I know" he said finally. "Harry sometimes overreacts though, I bet he thinks McGonagall is gonna kick him out for that little stunt"

Hermione thought that that wasn't a surprise that he thought that because Professor McGonagall did not look pleased with Harry Potter at all but she decided not to say that.

"I'm sure she's not going to expel him" she said finally. Ron snorted into his mash potato.

"Anyway" he asked suddenly. "Why do you care?"

Hermione blinked. "I'm just trying to be friendly" she said stung.

Ron Weasley's ears had gone red. "Well don't" he said finally.

"Know it all" he muttered.

Hermione glared at him trying to mask the hurt that he had caused by pretending to be aloof.

"Bastard" she muttered something in which she had never said before and had only ever heard her Dad say once after his football team had lost at the last second.

Ron Weasley either didn't hear her or didn't care to comment and she didn't care either. She finished her meal in silence and departed as soon as she could deciding to go straight to the library. She had been reading Hogwarts a History before bed but now she wished she had a muggle book with her. right now, she wanted to be completely ordinary and forgotten in this world, this world she wasn't sure she belonged too.

She saw the tear fall on the book cover and wiped it away turning to the next chapter.

She didn't need Ron Weasley.

She didn't need Harry Potter.

She was Hermione Granger and that was not a small thing to be in her opinion.

It was just a shame because much later she realised that a part of her really did want to be friends with them.

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 **And let me know what you think. I will try and update when I can. **


	3. Chapter Three

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this one will certainly include Halloween I can promise you that.**

 **Again some of the dialogue is taken from the book, some is not.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Three-

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The following weeks Hermione hardly smiled once and as the weather turned colder and they headed more towards October she found that she was silently counting down the days until she could head home for Christmas.

She thought she was tougher than this. She thought she was capable of standing on her own two feet even without friends and surviving with a combination of what she knew was rather impressive intelligence and a desire to be independent that had stemmed she believed from being an only child with two parents who worked very hard and very long hours.

But this…this feeling of complete and total abandonment was something that even Hermione with all her fancy words she found in her fancy books couldn't even imagine. And it only got worse as the days progressed.

She got on ok with the girls that were in her dorm. Parvati and Lavender had quickly become the very best of friends and while they sometimes included Hermione in on their conversation they were too giggly if she was being honest for her taste. The other two who she shared her dorm with were never in the place only staggering back in as the clocks chimed midnight and by that time Hermione was safe in her bed with the curtains tucked around her and most of the time her trying not to cry.

Classes were much the same. It was quickly becoming clear that she was one of the brightest students in the class and not even Professor Snape could criticise her instead he vented his frustration at either Neville who was hopeless, Harry Potter who just seemed to irritate him just by breathing or by making snide comments that she was _too_ bright which Hermione supposed was not a bad thing all things considered.

But she was unhappy.

The best way to look at what was making her unhappy she knew was to look at it logically. The reason she was unhappy she knew was that she had no friends. The problem was she didn't know how to go about making them. She had people she could say a hello and a goodnight to but she had nobody that she could talk to and it was frustrating, lonely and if she was being honest with herself it brought her to tears more than once as the weather started turning cold and the students geared up for Halloween.

And then there had been that complete catastrophe that had been the Midnight Fight/Duel or whatever it was that Ron Weasley King of Tactless had taken to calling it. The fact that Draco Malfoy had goaded the redhead or Harry Potter had not surprised her but she was more than a little surprised to hear that Harry was taking part in the thing. Even after the whole incident involving the broomstick and then gaining a coveted place on the team and sending most of the school into a high tempered debate about ethics, talent and _was he really that bloody good?_ She had assumed that Harry Potter was done making trouble.

Certainly, it seemed like he wanted a quiet life. He was steadfastly ignoring the conversations that seemed to spring up uninvited around him and Hermione knew half the school wanted to know what had really happened that night when He Who Must Not Be Named had been defeated. And if she was being honest she wanted to know too. Because if a wizard was so powerful that people still feared to speak his name a decade after he was supposedly dead then what horrors had he inflicted upon this secret world tucked away from everything she had believed to be real.

But now there was the Midnight Duel that he had willingly gone too and she had followed if only to stop them doing something stupid. She had no doubt that somehow Harry would emerge the victor for some unknown reason, she thought that whenever Harry Potter had a wand in his hand and good common sense there was a chance that he would prevail. But Ron Weasley…

Ron Weasley…

He was slowly becoming the bane of Hermione's existence. Wherever she went Ron was there with that stupid speck of dirt that always appeared on the side of his nose, had she slept in the dorm beside him she would have shown him a mirror and handed him a wet wipe out of sheer frustration. Ron Weasley was a combination of both rude and loyal. She never saw Harry Potter without Ron Weasley at his side and she knew full well even if she hadn't been walking by and overheard the conversation-that it had been Ron that had signed up Harry to this Midnight Duel thing.

And as usual he shut her down which Hermione thought was both hurtful and unfair. Not even Harry Potter could look her in the eye. Both of them seemed to consider interfering and neither one of them seemed to register that it wasn't just their pride that mattered. Hermione got the impression from only a few weeks that their house was one of pride and their arch rivals had won everything from the house cup to the Quidditch cup for the last seven years. She also got the impression that things were becoming quite desperate for the current seven years having overheard one boy complain loudly to his neighbour about it over breakfast that very morning that he could feel it in his bones that they were going to lose again this year. Hermione had caught his friend's eye who rolled his eyes at her grinned and told his friend to eat his pancakes and shut up.

And the logical part of her brain knew that even if you put aside the whole points system this school seemed to have built itself upon there was the fact that Ron, Harry, that Malfoy boy and the other who was joining them (and that was if they joined them which Hermione seriously had doubts about) had only had their wands for a month at best. If it amounted to anything then it would be a fist fight and while a part of her guilty wanted Ron Weasley to punch that stupid smirk of Draco Malfoy's face the other part of her knew that she had an obligation to stop it from happening before any of them got hurt.

Besides, how would she feel if they lost a load of points for Gryffindor and she had done nothing to stop them? Her Dad had always said that if there was something to be done that needed to be done for a greater purpose then a strong, good person would do it regardless of the consequences.

She dipped her quill in her inkpot. She was in the middle of writing yet another letter to her parents. She had already sent two and she was waiting on a reply to the last one. She knew her parent's staunch believers in the muggle post and if needed a telephone were struggling with clipping their replies to a small owl that she borrowed from the Owlery and sent through both days and nights to her small suburban home in her small street.

So what should she do about this Midnight Duel thing? Good Grief. Even the very name of it sounded barbaric and medieval like.

She could tell Percy Weasley. He was a prefect, Ron's brother and had helped Hermione out by pointing her in direction of the library. Sure, he was a little full of himself and had told her twice that he was setting his heart on becoming Head Boy but he might be the only person capable of enforcing any control in Ron. And it seemed that Harry was following Ron in this no matter what.

Somehow Hermione didn't think the boy who had been raised by muggles knew what his best friend had signed him up for.

She dithered again. Telling Percy was not something that she particularly wanted to do. She wasn't some stupid little tattle tale and she didn't really want to get them into trouble. And that meant that there was only one thing to do.

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So once Fay's breathing finally evened out that night in the dorms, Hermione slipped on her fuzzy socks and her bathrobe and crept downstairs to wait for Ron and Harry to sneak out through the portrait hole. She was going to make them listen to her if it was the last thing she did.

Of course, that meant coming along with them.

"If I get caught" Ron Weasley threatened under his breath to her as Harry and Neville Longbottom peered through the trophy room door. "I mean it you know, curse of the bogey's"

Hermione wanted to tell him that there was no such thing, that Professor Quirrell was probably making it up and that she doubted he could cast a curse at this point anyway but she was cut off when they heard the sound of footsteps coming around the corner.

It was not Malfoy.

It was the caretaker Flitch and his cat Mrs Norris who Hermione knew that had she taken home with her there was a very good chance her mother might mistake her for a shoe mat due to the matted fur.

Harry turned to them face white in the torchlight and his green eyes standing out dramatically filled with a purpose-though weather it was panic or something else Hermione didn't see because Ron Weasley took that moment to grab her by the back of her dressing gown belt and all but throw her bodily over the threshold into the corridor as his best friend let out a cry that would have made a war general proud.

"Run!" he yelled and Hermione powerless to do anything but follow him did just that. She ran down at least two corridors and four flights of stairs and twice had she not reached out and grabbed a strong hold of Ron Weasley she would have slipped, gone sprawling and probably gotten them all caught.

They stopped some time later, when the clashing and clanging had stopped and then when they had been confronted by Peeves the poltergeist it was her that had whipped out her wand and shouted the spell to unlock the door closest to them which she thought irritably-was bloody lucky considering she had only just felt comfortable using it yesterday.

"I told you" she gasped through her breathing. There was nothing like a high-speed chase to remind you how unfit you were and she was almost bent double. Neville was almost in a state of nervous collapse and even Ron Weasley was leaning against the door seemingly weak in the knees. Only Harry Potter was standing there breathing heavily and cleaning his glasses but otherwise looking like he had been for a gentle stroll. Neville was whimpering next to her and Harry put his glasses back on just as Hermione exploded.

"I told you" she hissed and then winced because that made the stich in her side throb in agony. "I told you" she repeated, in truth she might have said a lot of other things but looking back she wasn't sure if she remembered them. Ron Weasley opened his mouth to say something incredibly rude no doubt when Harry let out a gasp of horror and the two of them turned to see what had captured their attention.

There standing in front of them was a giant three headed dog.

Hermione saw it…she was working on the believing it thing but she saw it. Three huge heads, large teeth, growls that were growing louder and louder, almost like the distant beat of drums of war or something. She bit her lip and cast her eyes around. They were in the forbidden corridor, the one on the third floor where they had been told they were not to go unless they wanted to die a painful death.

And seeing those teeth, Hermione understood why.

But then she saw something even as the growling grew louder and louder and she stared. It was a ring, silver and large and around it was lines. One paw was covering it but Hermione knew a trapdoor when she saw one. The dog was guarding something. Obviously, something valuable because otherwise you wouldn't need a dog…monster…whatever it was guarding something that wasn't life or death.

But she didn't get long to look at it because the second the dog's yellow eyes opened a little she turned, saw the now opened door and the four of them started running and didn't stop until they found themselves back at the portrait hole where thankfully the Fat Lady had returned from her stroll and was watching them with renewed interest.

"Where have you all been?"

"Never mind that" Harry gasped. "Pig Snout"

And with that she let them in and they all collapsed into the nearest armchair.

What little conversation they did have Hermione did not remember. She could not remember a time where she had been so angry. Though weather it was at herself for following them or at Ron and Harry for putting them all in this situation she honestly wasn't sure.

Eventually she made her way up to bed and back under the covers.

She shuddered she had to admit more than once at the thought of all those teeth and even though she was tired, even though her bones were aching and her teeth were on edge and all she wanted to do was sink into the pillow and sleep for a year, Hermione found that she could not.

For just was that dog guarding?

And just like that, she knew she wasn't going to be getting any sleep. But then she remembered the look on Harry Potter's face when she pointed out the trapdoor and realised…she might not be the only one who was wondering the answer to that question tonight.

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 **And let me know what you think **


	4. Chapter Four

**Hi, so here is another chapter, there are about six more left and then this little story will be over I think. Again not all the dialogue and scenes are exactly the same as the book as I do kinda alternate between the dialogue in the book and the film.**

 **Again nothing here is mine it all belongs to the Queen of writing-J.K Rowling.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And I will try and update a lot sooner, I appreciate that I have taken a long time in updating but that is because uni and work have really taken a lot out of me, I hope the updates will be quicker but...**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Four-

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The weeks leading up to Halloween and after were the weeks that even in years to come would be the weeks that would change Hermione Jean Granger's life. Halloween, she was beginning to get the impression in the Wizarding World was a very important holiday. While the superstitions were not as strong as she believed…deep down she could not help but notice amongst the students with at least one wizarding parent that the atmosphere had changed.

When one morning Hermione woke up to the small of baked pumpkin (which smelt a lot nicer than she supposed it looked) she couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement too, for the first time in a long time. Halloween was always a fun holiday. While she supposed the trick or treating was out of the question there was no reason why she couldn't enjoy the day. Besides she had Charms first and that alongside Transfiguration was one of her favourite subjects, even if she did spend it with those idiots, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Since the Midnight Duel the two of them had become insufferable. Always together and making it clear that nobody could penetrate the bond between them, the boys had not been making a quiet time of their stay at Hogwarts. More to the point Harry Potter had gotten his new broomstick for the team and according to whispers around the Common Room not only was it the best broomstick to date but it had also been bought out of the budget that the teachers kept for emergencies which she soon discovered did not really help her temper.

But the crux of the matter was that she was lonely. She didn't have the friendship group that Fay had or the close-knit friendship that Harry and Ron had that seemed so unbreakable.

And it was apparently becoming clear even to her at her most stubborn that books were only go to go so far both magical and muggle.

Breakfast that morning consisted of pumpkin related things and Hermione dubiously stared at the pumpkin coated cereal flakes before she decided to try the pancakes. While she ate she could see out of the corner of her eyes Harry and Ron with their heads together, red hair contrasting with black and the two of them were sat muttering away. Hermione wondered if they were discussing the giant three headed dog and what it was guarding. If she was being honest with herself she had thought about it a lot over the past weeks despite telling herself firmly that she didn't care and didn't want to care.

Whatever it was guarding had to be something so magically powerful that Professor Dumbledore was prepared to risk bringing it into the castle. And that dog…well whoever was after it must be very dangerous if that dog was needed to protect that small trapdoor completely covered by one big paw.

But again, she couldn't confide in anyone about these suspicions, she was not supposed to be there in the first place and despite what she had threatened she really didn't want to tell Percy Weasley and that of course left out her gossiping room-mates. And Neville Longbottom had made it quite clear that he never wanted to discuss these events again because he broke into a cold sweat whenever the dog was mentioned by her and looked around, as if expecting to see him being walked by Hagrid across the lawn.

Which Hermione suspected might not be entirely not true…

But anyhow. She was lonely. And she was getting more and more homesick, she tried not to think of how at Halloween her mum would be bemoaning about the amount of sugar that was consumed by small children this night and her dad would be reading the paper with his slippers on muttering dark curses whenever the doorbell went and make him jump all throughout Transfiguration but by the end of the lesson she still could not remember what she was supposed to be doing and even Professor McGonagall shot her a strange look as she filed out the classroom with her hair covering her face.

And then there was Charms.

And it was there and then that years back she could pinpoint a moment that would forever change her life.

They were learning how to make objects fly today. Something that Hermione had been looking forwards too, seeing as she clearly couldn't sit on a broomstick for longer than ten minutes and that was when she was feeling confident, she had been looking forwards to using magic to make something fly if not herself.

Professor Flitwick however decided to put them in pairs and much to her internal (and it was probably written all over her face as well) annoyance she was partnered with Ron Weasley-AKA 'The Rudest Boy She Had Ever Met'.

In his defence though it was hard to tell who was more annoyed by this, because it was clear that Ron Weasley did not look pleased at the thought of working with her. Hermione personally just wanted to work on the spells, pretend that she wasn't homesick and then go and curl up in her free afternoon before the feast and have a good sleep and a good cry in the privacy of what she knew would be an empty dormitory. And she wanted to do that as soon as she could and a pit stop to the hospital wing with a black eye or perhaps with no eye considering the way Ron Weasley was waving his wand around as if he was trying to rid himself of a swarm of bees was not part of the plan.

Instead Hermione decided to focus on the spell. She had read the theory behind the spell and she understood it as well and she had spent the night before the lesson practicing the wand movements and she was pretty sure that with a little direction from her teacher she should have the spell learnt by the end of the lesson. Doing this and beating all her classmates to it still even now managed to send a little thrill of pride down Hermione's spine.

And to be honest with herself a little bit of savage, callus glee swept through her when she saw the amazed looks on everyone's faces including Harry Potter and most especially Ron Weasley. And if he bothered to do some reading she thought shouldering her bag after having spent the majority of the lesson trying to help and correct him on his mistakes and having won the house twenty points, then she wouldn't have to help him. To be honest she didn't have to do that anyway but her mother had always taught her to be nice to people that needed help and today Ron Weasley had needed help.

But thinking about her mother at home probably bemoaning Halloween candy made her stomach clench uncomfortably so Hermione tried desperately to think of something else dropping her head so that the water that had risen in her eyes could be blinked back without anyone seeing.

And then Ron Weasley happened again. She was walking past him, Harry, Neville, a boy she knew was Dean Thomas who was a muggle born like her and a West Ham fan-though she supposed it was a bit unfair if she held that against him and an Irish boy that she remembered at the feast but couldn't for the life of her remember his name. She was walking past them desperate for the privacy of her own dormitory when she heard him say quite loudly and without any hint of remorse…

"She's a nightmare, honestly, no wonder she hasn't got any friends"

There was no doubt he was talking about her.

Hermione paused for a second as the tears that she had been fighting back spilled over without hesitation. She couldn't stop herself and she brushed past Harry Potter ducking her head down low so that he couldn't see her face. She thought perhaps that he might of but she couldn't be sure so blinded was she by the tears that had come with nearly a month of pent up loneliness, homesickness and loss had brought.

She didn't make it to the dormitory's which was what she initially planned on.

She made it to the nearest girl's bathroom, threw herself into the nearest stall and slammed the door shut locking it with a sharp snap and then burst into tears.

She didn't come out until later when her face was stiff, her eyes were red, her throat was sore and there was a troll on the loose.

And that was how she found herself trapped in a locked bathroom with a huge monster (and it could only be described as that) looming over her club in hand.

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Years later she would look back on this moment with a sort of fondness, she had been so small, it had been natural for her to cower against the wall. Years later Hermione would count this as the only battle that she had ever cowered against and in all honesty, it wasn't even that big of a battle compared to the war nobody knew was brewing.

She pushed her back against the wall and feeling so overwhelmingly tired by the entire thing she closed her eyes. Her throat was choked with her screaming that was echoing the sound in her head internally and yet there was still no sound coming out. She couldn't move, she couldn't see past the tinge in her eyes and she couldn't make a sound except a little gasping whimper that even at her most scared she had never uttered before.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to cower herself into the small space beneath the sink, praying mentally that someone, anyone with magic would come along in time to save her.

And just like that the doors were pushed open and in came…well…more like crashed, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Hermione had never been so happy to see two people in her entire life.

Harry helped her crawl out of the wreckage though he seemed to be distracted because with every second he was helping her it was another second that Ron was up against the troll alone. Hermione sunk to the floor behind them and watched as Harry with a look of determination on his face threw caution (and a good deal of common sense) out the window and jumped on the trolls back.

When this story was told later it was more of a you had to be there to see it kind of story because it was so far-fetched that it was hard to believe that they had all survived.

But they did.

With the exception of the wand being shoved up the troll's nose and Ron actually completing a spell with minimal damage, they managed to bring the troll to the floor. The exact details Hermione was a little fuzzy on, though she held no doubt that once Harry and Ron recovered from their shock she would hear all about their heroic rescue in detail but suddenly through the haze of fog that had taken over her brain and sent it spinning since the moment that she had seen the troll she heard the sound of running footsteps in the distance.

She supposed the noise that they had been making would have been enough to ensure the entire castle knew what was going on.

"Is it dead" she asked finally. Harry was panting and surprisingly enough Ron shook his head.

"No" he said. "It's just knocked out" he looked at her then red hair contrasting with the whiteness of his face and Hermione managed a small smile despite the fact that it felt so forced it was a wonder her face didn't crack.

The footsteps were coming closer and then suddenly Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell and Professor Snape had all burst into the room. Hermione had never been more happier to see anyone and that included Professor Snape though he didn't give her a second glance.

She didn't know why she did it, but she knew suddenly that Harry and Ron were facing punishment for saving her and she couldn't let them do that. They had put themselves at risk for her and she couldn't let them take all the blame because it was becoming more and more obvious that they were not going to get rewarded for such action.

"It's my fault Professor McGonagall"

Her voice never stuttered and her eyes (though she had to resist the urge to roll them) even when Ron dropped his wand and Harry gazed at her blankly, never looked away from her teacher.

There was a pause before Professor McGonagall started berating her when Hermione could have sworn she saw something of a flicker of amusement across the older woman's face but before she could dwell on that it was gone and Professor was berating her for her serious lack in judgement and commenting on the fact that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were probably alive out of sheer dumb luck.

She sent Hermione off to the dormitory in disgrace though the second the door was closed and she was out of the corridor and that she found that she had to take a deep breath and lean against the wall in order to stop her hands from shaking. Eventually she found curling them into fists and sticking them in her robe pockets probably worked and she forced herself to walk to the Common Room wherein she gave the password of the top of her head, walked in and sank into an armchair near the door.

Ron and Harry had saved her life.

There was no way around that fact. Ron and Harry had saved her life.

The portrait hole opened then and Hermione got to her feet even though she felt like it was the last thing she wanted to do in order to great them. There was so much to say, so much that had happened in such a short space of time but when she caught sight of them standing there she found that she couldn't say it.

Instead she bit her lip.

However, it was becoming clear that she was not the only one that had somehow lost her voice. Both Harry and Ron were looking as uncomfortable as she felt.

"Thanks" she said just as Harry and Ron muttered it and then without warning they all turned back to the large table set up in the Common Room set up with the food sent up from the interrupted feast.

And from that moment on Ron Weasley and Harry Potter became her friends.

There were somethings one couldn't do without become friends with someone else and it became clear that knocking out at least a ten-foot mountain troll was one of them.

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 **And let me know what you think. **


	5. Chapter Five

**Hi, so here is chapter 5, the next chapter will take place over Christmas and then probably include Norbort, I wont spend too much time on that chapter though because I feel for Hermione the forest and the trapdoor are the most important character development chapters for her.**

 **Also on a side note, my computer has broken (insert eyeroll) and therefore until I get it fixed I am reduced to the uni laptops and they are in short supply so please be aware that there might be a lapse in updates though I will try and have it fixed.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Five-

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It was strange at first Hermione wouldn't deny it. Strange to have friends and especially friends like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. But it was also strange-or at least to her how easy it was to get used to the idea of waking up every morning and finding out that she had someone to talk to over breakfast brought a smile on her face so big and bright that she thought sometimes It was a little sad.

And she found that Ron and Harry asked for little. In truth she may have started reading their essays to check them for inconsistences. She refused point blank to let them copy from her, but she read through the work. To her surprise she found both boys to be quite bright. Well that wasn't a surprise as far as Harry was concerned because she had been right in thinking that he had a brain in his head as well as a natural instinct for powerful magic, but she confessed to herself once that she was surprised at the depth that Ron could put into his work-though she soon learnt that was a combination of fearing his teacher (Professor McGonagall) by sending in lacklustre work, liking the subject (Charms, Astrology and Herbology) and simply not caring whatsoever (Potions and History of Magic). She found some of her happiest times were sitting in the Common Room reading these essays while Harry read aloud from the Daily Prophet and Ron answered questions that they might have.

This proved interesting and informative but also Ron could ask questions about their lives. Harry who had heard of Jane Austen was mildly amused when Hermione confessed to being, a fan but Ron had asked why someone who had read so large and complicated books was still important in the muggle world. Meanwhile Ron would tell them things about the wizarding world, including how his two older brothers were often on dangerous life-threatening adventures which included mummies, dragons and cursed tombs in Egypt that Hermione couldn't help but be fascinated about-the tombs not the dragons.

However, as October turned to November and November came to its third week something else dominated the spectrum of conversation at Hogwarts. The Quidditch season had begun. This would run to the end of the school year and even though Hermione hated the thought of flying she had to admit that she was intrigued to see what a game would look like in action even if she was nervous because Fred and George Weasley had spent a great deal of time filling in the first years on how even though there had been no deaths at Hogwarts there had once been enough blood to coat the sand under the pitch for a week until the Professor's got around to removing it. Personally, Hermione thought that bit farfetched but other students including Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, and Lavender Brown discussing the endless possibilities of whether or not Harry would plummet to his untimely death in the first half of the match.

She found that once you became friends with Harry and Ron it was easier to make friends with other people that they knew. Seamus was alright if a bit loud and Hermione read over his Charms essay once when she knew he was really struggle to which he hugged her-which he supposed was quite nice, Neville she already knew, and Dean was a muggle born, a West Ham fan (though she supposed she shouldn't hold that against him) and also a fan of history which meant that whenever Ron got into a long rant about his brothers someone else was always listening to him.

But again, that all changed as the whole school seemed to get hyped up for the match. The first one would be Gryffindor and Slytherin and her house and the house of green and silver hated each other on a matter of principle. The rivalry was fierce and what with Harry now taking centre stage and dominating the topic of conversation, Oliver Wood, Captain of the Quidditch Team had become rather twitchy around the three of them whenever he ran into them changing classrooms as if he thought someone from the opposite team was going to leap out of the shadows and take out Harry's kneecaps from behind.

But also, there was a new feeling in the air. Everyone seemed uplifted because of the match and even though Professor Snape was being horrible as usual Hermione didn't think much of it until one day when Harry got his book confiscated and decided (rather bravely) Hermione thought, to go and demand that Professor Snape give it back. This resulted in Hermione losing dreadfully at chess (something Ron who was brilliant at it was delighted in) when Harry came in with a look on his face that somehow, she knee wasn't good.

"I just saw Snape in the staffroom with Filch and he was holding his robes above his knees" Harry said collapsing into the nearest armchair with a look on his face that said he had just escaped a slow and painful death. Ron choked on air and Hermione was suddenly overcome with the bizarre desire to giggle. Harry shook his head at their expressions and finally snorted once at the implication of what he had said.

"No but listen" he said once they had finished laughing at their Potions Masters expense. And with that he told them all about the three-headed dog, the night of the troll and what he had Ron had seen and then the story of Harry's first trip to Gringotts bank and the little parcel that Hagrid the gamekeeper had taken from the strange vault that looked like a little grubby rock. Hermione dithered thinking hard and Ron took this opportunity to take her Queen which was disappointing but not worth the headache.

So, a parcel had gone missing the month before they were due to go to school, then when they had arrived a corridor of the castle was cordoned off and a three-headed dog was guarding a trapdoor in which Harry was pretty sure Professor Snape had almost had his leg bitten off trying to open. Strange was not even close to what this was, and she could tell by the look of confusion on Harry's face that the problem was puzzling him too.

But surely Professor Snape wouldn't hurt a student, would he? Perhaps he didn't like them, and she knew from mutters across at least three houses that they didn't like him but surely, he wouldn't risk his job and freedom so that he could steal some grubby little package that according to Harry couldn't house more than a stone at the very latest. But naturally when she asked the question Ron scoffed and looked up from where he was analysing the chessboard to say in a tone that spoke of sarcasm.

"Honestly Hermione you think all teachers are saints or something" Hermione shook her head as he continued talking and turned back to the chessboard. Call her stupid but she didn't think having a bit of faith in someone that he wasn't capable of the worst things humanly possible was a bad thing. Also, there was the simple fact of Dumbledore trusting Snape and as far as most of the school was concerned as far as she could tell (including a lot of the older students) while they didn't like him their headmaster's trust in someone carried volumes.

The majority of the weak was focused on the match. Hermione knew that Harry was nervous, it was written all over his face whenever he was in sight and also, she knew because Ron told her in confidence that he had been having nightmares that had him waking up in the night shaking and sweating. As far as she could tell Ron wanted to keep this knowledge to themselves-he told Hermione that there were somethings with boys you just didn't comment on. Personally, Hermione thought that was stupid, but she supposed Ron was the one with five older brothers not her and that this might be the one area-other than chess where Ron might know more than she did.

Yes, Hermione found it very shocking as well.

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Anyway, as the whole house geared up for this match Hermione and Dean decided to do something that might cheer Harry up. Ron had a sheet which had been chewed on by that horrible shifty looking rat he owned and after Ron and Neville had straightened it out from one end of the common room to the other Hermione, Seamus and Dean set to work. Seamus began painting the words on the makeshift banner while Dean who was quite good at drawing began to do a large lion representing the team. Once they were done and with Seamus now holding open their Charms book Hermione after three goes managed to get right a complicated charm she had been working on in which the words flashed a different colour every few seconds.

It wasn't much, but she hoped it would bring a smile to Harry's face when he saw it.

They managed to get good seats in a back row and Hermione sat down next to Ron and Neville tucking her cloak around her and listening to Ron prattle on about the match and how often seekers were actually shoved off their brooms. Considering how white Harry had looked this morning and how very little he had eaten Hermione did not think that that was the best topic of conversation, but she decided to focus on the players that had now mounted their broomsticks and were in the air. They made it look so easy she mused, once the game had begun and they had been joined by Hagrid whose large presence had made the entire back row seem smaller, Hermione decided to try and concentrate. She cheered and booed along with the rest of the supporters alongside her but if she was being painfully honest with herself had it not been for Harry she didn't think she would be here. This was shaping up to be a good game and bar Harry being blocked once nothing bad had happened, but she was glad that this was a little bit like muggle football, in the sense that they didn't have matches every week.

And then suddenly something happened. Something changed and there was a pause where both and she and Ron spotted it before anyone else did.

Harry's broom seemed to be acting out of control.

Unless Harry was zigzagging in the air on purpose then Harry was really in trouble. Hermione watched open mouthed with a steady sense of ever-growing horror as the broomstick seemed to move of its own accord. Hagrid was saying something about powerful dark magic that was needed to curse a broomstick like Harry's and those words cut through the white fog of Hermione's brain. Suddenly without warning she had this overwhelming sense to look at the crowd. If Harry was being cursed, then someone really powerful had to do it and then surely that only left the teachers…but would one of them really do such a thing?

She grabbed Ron's binoculars causing Ron to let out a loud shout of surprise and began spanning the crowd. Dean and Seamus were busy thinking of all sorts of insults for the opposition who they were clearly blaming for this event and it was clear that Hagrid was preoccupied with Neville who had suddenly without warning began sobbing into his left coat pocket leaving just her and Ron alone in the stands watching the teachers.

And then she saw it. Snape.

Bloody hell. He was cursing the broom.

"It's Snape" she hissed. "He's cursing the broom"

"Cursing the broom?" Ron all but shouted. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs on instinct, but he ignored her.

"Now what do we do?" he hissed.

There was a plan forming in Hermione's brain. It was so daring she didn't think it was possible but the more she thought of it the more she thought that it might be the only thing that she could do. Soon enough the curse would work, and Harry would plummet almost certainly to his death unless Professor Snape was stopped. Without a word she dashed off down the stairs behind the stands and then she ran without stopping to the teacher's stands. By the time she had managed to find a spot behind Snape (accidently knocking over Professor Quirrell in the row behind him) she was out of breath and Harry was almost certainly out of time.

She had learnt the spell months ago, had practised it for the first time with Harry and Ron when Professor Snape had confiscated the book. It was a small fire that she could easily control and put out and Hermione had gotten a little thrill when she first preformed it. Now she had to control her hands least they start shaking so much that she couldn't say the spell or in case she could, and she accidently set the entire faculty on fire.

It wouldn't sink into until much later the gravity of what she had done. That she had set her teacher on fire, but before she could wait to see Harry swing back onto his broomstick she scooped up the little fireball into a spare jar she had in her bag for some lucky reason and she turned and ran away.

She missed Harry swallowing the snitch but considering she had saved his life she thought that perhaps he might not mind too much.

And as it turned out that match provided them with another clue to the mystery of what that dog (Fluffy? Honestly) was guarding. What Professor Snape (according to Harry and Ron) was so desperate to steal, what he was prepared to kill for though, to be honest Hermione wasn't sure…something was telling her that something was off about that curse and she didn't mean that she could have killed someone.

But it was after the match that they learned about Nicholas Flamel and that night when Hermione turned back the covers and slipped under the sheets, burrowing down to get warm she wondered what was so important that it would take a giant dog, Hagrid looking like he had betrayed the very foundations of his world and perhaps even murder to keep safe?

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 **And there it is...let me know what you think. **


	6. Chapter Six

**Hi, so here is the newest chapter, I apologise for the lateness. I am hoping to do a mass update nearer Christmas so this might be the last update for a couple of months. I plan on ending this story somewhere around ten chapters and I can tell you that the next chapter will start with the Forbidden Forest, I do touch on Norbert but a lot of Hermione's arc consisted from the Forbidden Forest onwards and that's when she really comes into her own so that's where I'll start.**

 **This chapter touches on a little bit of Christmas, a little bit of Muggleborn friendship between Hermione and Dean and a little insight into Hermione and Ron whenever they worry about Harry as a part of me always wondered how much they knew about his nightmares in the early years that they were friends.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine, all of theses characters belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling and I am only borrowing them for a bit.**

 **Please Read and Review and I will hopefully see you in time for Christmas**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Six-

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In December term finished and Hermione began packing her stuff up ready to take it home. She was only taking a small trunk this time rather than the large one that would come home with her when school ended. Harry was of course staying at Hogwarts and Ron was going to stay as well it seemed that his parents were off to see the sibling that resided in Romania and worked with dragons and therefore the twins, Percy and Ron were going to stay behind for Christmas.

Personally Hermione thought that Ron staying behind was the best thing that could happen because while they spent the weeks looking for the name of the man that Hagrid had slipped through the cracks of their conversation that day after the match and had drawn a blank, Harry was not prepared to let it go. Hermione was stumped and that was annoying because she hated the very idea of being stumped by something that logically she couldn't find the solution to it. There was a pause when she finally but down her books the night before she was about to get the carriage ride back to the station through the thick snow covering the grounds and realised that perhaps this mystery of the secret between Dumbledore and the man that knew what Fluffy was guarding would stay between them.

And even though it was irritating she found that she could sleep at night a little bit easier when she thought about going home and focusing on a nice Christmas with her mum and dad. It seemed like a lifetime since she had seen them and she couldn't wait to be back in her own bed again and eat her mum's Christmas day pancakes at the kitchen table while her Dad read his newspaper and snorted at whatever the government was proposing for their new year policies. She loved Hogwarts now that she had friends and she was enjoying the work, and then finally she had found a way to manage the workload.

There was a pause when she woke up in the morning and she saw the snow glittering across the grounds. Ron and Harry were spending the morning in the grounds with the twins making snowmen. Ron had no idea what that was and when Harry had told him (and the twins had overheard no doubt) and therefore they were going to have a competition over who could make the biggest one and Hermione personally thought that she was glad that she wasn't going to be there to see this. Instead she sat down at the table and helped herself to a strong pot of tea and a warm bowl of porridge. Harry was working through his copy of their defence textbook on the chapter they had to read over Christmas and he was prodding his sausages with his fork as if it was his wand. Hermione tried to engage Ron in some conversation and too remind him that he too had holiday homework that would need more time and attention than the five minutes he spent on it the last day before term resumed but Ron was too busy making a tower of hash potatoes and bacon that was supposed to resemble some sort of breakfast meal and attempting to shove it in his mouth more than his…well…education.

Sometimes when it came to her two best friends Hermione felt like she was constantly walking uphill alone and struggling to get to the top. Instead she stirred her tea and decided that it was Christmas and another spoonful of brown sugar on her porridge couldn't hurt.

Her parting with Ron and Harry was strangely painful. Both of them hugged her. Both of them pressed presents into her hands and Hermione already told them that theirs were waiting for them in their dorm to be put out by…well…whoever it was that put out the presents she wasn't sure. She took Ron's Potions essay for a read and a correction on the train ride home and then shouldered her bag, allowed Hagrid to lift her trunk onto the coach taking them through the snow to the station and then took a seat on the magical carriage next to Dean Thomas and finally set off to the station.

Dean followed her all the way to the carriage and they sat together for the train ride home. This Hermione found was rather comfortable. They both read books that were muggle written. Hermione who had finally finished Pride and Prejudice had now moved onto Persuasion and Dean was currently working through a battered copy of what looked like Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them which Hermione had read and really enjoyed. So all in all it was an enjoyable trip. They talked a little. Hermione had been an only child her whole life and Dean had two little sisters who he was desperate to see but yet only one parent. He talked about how he had brought his sisters chocolate frogs and sugar quills that he knew they would enjoy but would send them hyper and Hermione told him how she had brought a game of Wizard Chess home because her father who was a good player and who loved beating her Mum would get a kick out of a chess board where the players hit each other until they were dead and then magically sprang to life whenever you wanted another game.

Finally, the train stopped. Dean helped her get her trunk down, wished her a happy Christmas and then disappeared into the crowds. Hermione looked around, saw her parents stood by the barrier with anxious expressions, pushed past the seventh years in her way with more bravery than she thought and then finally launched herself into her parent's arms.

It was so good to be home. Her bedroom was still the same, the smell of the kitchen and the food scattered about the place, the turkey in the oven. What with the three of them there wasn't a great need to spend a great amount at Christmas on food and presents. Therefore, it was still midnight mass and hot chocolate and blankets pilled up to watch Christmas TV. For once she wasn't dreaming about the three headed dog or Harry almost falling of his broom or whatever it was that they knew the dog was guarding. She could on some levels understand Harry's frustration because she too knew that she had read the name somewhere but couldn't put her finger on it.

Her parents were more than happy to let her explain her subjects and they had a look through her potion kit with considerable interest and then on Christmas morning her Dad had been almost giddy with glee at the chess set proving that it was a good present and her mum had been more than happy to try writing with a quill.

"I'm glad you've made friends" her Dad said warmly as Hermione saw him load up the chess pieces. "They sound like two very good boys"

"Over the summer Hermione why don't you see if Harry and Ron want to spend a few days with us? It would be nice to meet them especially if Harry doesn't have anyone to spend the summer with" Hermione smiled at her Mum as she passed Hermione the cup of hot chocolate. Hermione had told them that Harry had been raised by his Aunt and Uncle and that they were horrible and Hermione knew her mum well enough to know that she wanted to feed Harry up on principal. Ron was a human food disposal machine, a good chess player and would find even the most normal of things such as the light switch fascinating.

For two weeks Hermione felt normal. She still did her homework, re-read Ron's essay and was more than a little touched when Christmas morning came and she opened their Christmas presents. She had gotten Harry a large box of chocolate frogs and with Ron she had gotten him a twelve pack of mince pies that she imagined would be gone by Boxing Day. Ron had got her a large box of toffee that he said was from his mother and a jumper that he also said was his mother which was a soft darkish purple colour with her initial knitted in a nice light blue colour. It was so touching that a woman who Hermione had never met would knit something for her that she found herself smiling all day. It didn't help that the jumper was extremely comfortable. Harry had gotten her a new quill and Ron had also got her a nice bottle of navy blue ink with his mother's present which was lovely in her opinion and much nicer than perfume or whatever it was that she thought her roommates would have given each other.

She received correspondence for the two weeks mainly from Ron. He didn't tell her anything regarding their search but he did write that there was something bugging Harry and it seemed to involve a mirror that showed him images of his parents. Personally Hermione thought that that was enough to upset anyone but she decided after several nights in the new year nibbling her quill that it was probably best not to write a message. Harry didn't need her prying into his private business nor did she want to. In all honesty she would rather get back to school, make sure that neither one of her friends had gone near that dog again in a mad cap out of bounds scheme in order to find out what the dog was guarding and go through with a fine tooth comb all the books that she had taken out of the library in order for some background reading so she knew what she was looking for. Because Hermione was as sure as Harry was that she had heard that name before and it was slowly but surely driving her mad.

Before she knew it however her holidays were over and she was forced to back up her school and therefore it was with a bittersweet feeling in the pit of her stomach that Hermione packed up her bags and went back to London to board the Hogwarts Express and return to school.

There was something that she had learnt over the Christmas period and Hermione could see that it was on the faces of her fellow classmates-at least the ones who had gone home for Christmas. The homesickness was gone, she had learnt how to balance the yearning for the life that she had once had and thought that she would have forever and the one that was now stretched out for the foreseeable future. She could now fully appreciate the old world she had left behind and the new one that she was heading towards.

And it was something that made Hermione smile all the way back to Hogwarts, all through her unpacking, it made her chat more freely with Lavender who was the only girl in the dorm who wasn't at dinner and it made her smile right up until the point where she met Ron who was without Harry in their usual spot in the common room. Perhaps he was beginning to learn what understanding was she thought brightly, because he had bought her a turkey roll from dinner that she happily ate as she sat down and handed him he revised essay.

It was only after she finished eating and was happily cosied up in front of the fire that Ron told her that Harry had gone to spend some time in the grounds flying which was a thing that he did now more than once a day.

And then he told Hermione about the mirror, the invisibility cloak, the note that said the gift had once belonged to his father and the knowledge that Harry was having nightmares and waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweats and the way Ron was sure that his scar was hurting him.

"I think we have to keep an eye on him" Hermione said finally. Ron nodded looking immensely relieved that Hermione seemed to have a plan.

"We shouldn't say anything" Ron said and Hermione wanted to tell him that, that was the most obvious thing in the world but he looked so relieved to not carry this worry that came with what was going on with their friend that she instead patted his arm and let him think that he had won this round.

After all, what were friends for?

* * *

 **And let me know what you think x**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Hi, so here is another chapter and this is the first part of the Christmas mass loading! There should be at least one other chapter after this if not the end of the story, at the very least I expect the last three chapters to be up before New Years.**

 **This chapter does gloss over the Norbert situation a little but I really wanted to focus on the Forbidden Forest and then the next three chapters will deal with the trapdoor, the stone and the end of Hermione first year.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **This chapter does have some dialogue from the film but a lot of it is from the book, again this story is not heavily dialogue focused.**

 **Please read and review.**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Seven

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They were in deep disgrace.

Oh, not for the dragon, oh no…somehow, they had gotten away with hiding, smuggling and worrying about Hagrid's prized pet. But they had gotten caught in the process and now were in disgrace. Well…she, Harry, Neville and she supposed Draco Malfoy were, but she didn't really think he cared much compared to what his worst enemy was going through. Hermione however found that she could bare it.

With the exception of Lavender and Parvati the girls in her dorm still smiled at her in the morning and still said goodnight as they went to bed, Fay and Alice were not malicious people, they were disappointed because they had lost the points to be sure, but they did not outwardly flounce or speak loudly as if you weren't there like Lavender and Parvati did.

But again, that didn't bother her. this was not the first time Hermione had dealt with stupid little girls before that mocked her and teased her, her own mum had told her once when she was very little that someone smart once they had made a stupid decision would always attract the distain of others, so she found she could easily block them out of her mind.

She didn't put her hand up anymore, but she was instead choosing to focus on her exams. Was this a deliberate choice? No? Seamus Finnegan had gotten into the annoying habit of imitating her whenever she did it and while Professor McGonagall gave him detention the first time he did it to raucous laughter she had still had to bite her lip to tamper down the tears that had suddenly rushed to her eyes.

However, she had been more than a little touched when Ron had turned around and thrown his ink pot at Seamus the second Professor McGonagall's back was turned. This had resulted in Seamus bemoaning that the ink was down his front, Ron winking at Hermione who couldn't help but blink back the tears and smile a watery smile in the direction of her red headed friend who grinned back. Professor McGonagall gave Ron a lunchtime detention that was cleaning out the mouse cages that they had been using to transform into spoons.

Harry was taking it hard as well. He had been the reason why they had got so many points in the first place. He had won the second match (and where Ron had apparently had a fight right behind her without her noticing which was kinda hard to believe if she was being honest with herself) and then he had managed to lose most of them in one night. She and Neville were in some parts insignificant, Malfoy was almost laughable in comparison, but Harry Potter was well…Harry Potter and therefore Hermione suspected that like usual, Harry was suffering the most and pretending that he wasn't which was backed up by Ron stating that while Harry's nightmares had stopped he was still spending a lot of time sitting in the corner looking out of the window until the early hours of the morning. Even his flying seemed to have suffered and while the twins were frosty but polite whenever Hermione or Harry were with Ron she didn't know what was happening to her friend when the changing room doors closed.

But that was not the worst of it. Hermione had somehow thought that the silent treatment, the worry over weather or not Professor Snape was going to steal the stone from under their noses and the fact that they had broken she was sure several laws smuggling a dragon out of the school. Somehow, she had thought it was the worst thing that could happen this year, and she had already faced down a troll.

But no. No that wasn't the worst thing that could happen. The worst thing that could happen came a warm spring day in May just as the last few days of spring were turning into summer when she was gifted a note by her head of house telling her, her detention would be taking place at night and that it would be with Hagrid. She supposed that wasn't too bad, but to be honest Hermione was still a little cross with him about Norbert. While it had been fascinating to see a dragon up close there was the fact that they were in this mess because of Hagrid and Norbert, they had all spent countless nights worried about what would happen if the damn thing was discovered, Neville had gotten dragged into something he shouldn't have (she couldn't care less about Malfoy) and Ron had almost lost a hand after the thing had bitten it.

Give her some lines to copy and she would have been fine she thought grimly turning back to her eggs and toast and crumpling the parchment up in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

* * *

Hagrid was in his normally cheerful mood. He smacked Malfoy into submission with one biting sentence which made Harry grin, and had she not been so bloody terrified of stepping one foot into the Forbidden Forest (which must have that moniker for a good reason right?) she would have probably smiled too. As it was she had Neville trembling like a leaf on one side of her and Malfoy the colour of skimmed milk on the other.

"Here" Hagrid said pointing out silvery blood on the leaves as they split up.

"See that? That's unicorn blood that is?"

For a split-second Hermione forgot she was in the forest, that Malfoy and Neville were god knows where with a dog that was apparently as good as useless and that she had Harry were traipsing after something that apparently didn't walk or trot but seemed to slither. She bent down to have a look at it, unicorn blood was rare and precious, there was a reason why they only learnt about the tail and the hair in potions and she suspected there was a reason why Professor Snape never mentioned the blood. It was incredibly valuable she knew that much, nearly everything that came from a unicorn was because they were so difficult to catch but the sight of it spilled needlessly on the floor by her shoe made her feel kind of sad in a way that she couldn't describe.

But before she could bend down and get a good look at it they were interrupted by two centaurs and had Hermione been anything other than cold or terrified she might have picked up on what they were trying to say about "Mars is bright tonight"

As it had it she couldn't because Hagrid chose the exact moment her brain started working again to unceremoniously shove her and Harry behind a tree and go off in search of Neville and Malfoy who were (if the red sparks were anything to go by) in need of help.

She wasn't worried about Malfoy…ok so maybe she was…deep down, the forest was dark and gloomy and cold and by all accounts there was something horrible in here slithering all over the place and while Malfoy was an idiot he didn't deserve to die.

That being said she had to confess to being more worried about Neville than she was Draco Malfoy. She looked at Harry and from what little she could see of his face that he agreed with her. They had dragged Neville into it, Malfoy had thrown himself into it and Hermione didn't think that this would be the only time that he would put himself in danger trying to get them in trouble. She also thought somehow, that this wouldn't be the first time that she and Harry and perhaps even Ron would get into trouble and Neville would be there the saviour that would pull a miracle at the eleventh hour.

There was a pause when she stood there shivering in the wind breathing heavily in the dark forest Harry biting his lip to shreds next to her and then rubbing his scar one minute. Hermione could see watching him, shaded by darkness and struggling to compose himself and she could see what Ron was saying. Ever since they had found out the truth of what Fluffy was guarding and ever since they had learnt that it was more and more likely that Professor Snape was going to steal it, she could see that Harry was on some kind of auto pilot where his brain seemed to be running on two separate loops. The one that allowed him to focus during the day and the one that kept him up at night wondering what or who wanted to be immortal so badly.

Hagrid choose that moment to come back crashing through the undergrowth with a hysterical Neville and a smirking Malfoy. Hermione was so busy trying to calm down Neville who was shivering and covered in dirt that she missed Hagrid directing Harry to go with Malfoy and their disappearance. In fact, once she had gotten Neville to stop sobbing into her shoulder they had already walked quite a distance with Hagrid. The giant patted him on the shoulder once but that only sent him careening into Hermione and nearly pushing Hermione into a holly bush-or what she thought was a holly bush and she was really not in the mood to deal with it if it wasn't.

They carried on walking for what seemed like twenty minutes before the screaming started. It was Malfoy, Hermione was sure of it because…well she didn't know anyone who could be that shrill and girl-like. Instantly Hagrid started running towards the sound and Hermione and Neville had to pick up their robes and run after him off the path, through the mud and the tree roots that nearly tripped them up.

Draco Malfoy was running towards them terror in every inch of his face and Hermione realised with a pang of genuine fear that this was no joke. Something had happened to Harry or was happening to Harry and even as Hagrid loaded his crossbow and Draco began shouting about dead unicorns and drinking blood they were off now the four of them.

They only got a little bit further through the trees and then there was the sound of yelling and hooves. They pushed their way through some bushes into a clearing and there was Harry dismounting and looking slightly shocked and white faced to boot, from a centaur's back. It was a different one to the two Hermione had already met but they were there as well and the three of them were already having a heated argument that Hermione did not wish to be a part of. Harry was not trembling as Neville was nor was he whimpering every so often like a mouse like Malfoy was but all four of them were ignoring the argument in focus of the unicorn dead on the floor.

It was a painful sight, it was a lovely unicorn, a creature like the ones you would see in a book or a movie, soft white with a horn and bleeding silvery purple on the floor. Hermione couldn't take her eyes of it and was still thinking about it when Hagrid walked them back to the castle. Even Malfoy seemed subdued, Harry wasn't speaking, and Neville was shivering even as he bade them goodnight and went up to bed while Hermione tried not to take a great amount of pleasure in prodding a warm and dry Ron awake.

* * *

As soon as they sat down though Harry was telling his story. He got up and paced someway through it and he was feverish sometimes his eyes alight and flashing. Hermione listened to what had happened in the forest, she listened to what Harry was proposing, to what the centaur had told him, and she tried not to feel cold at the thought of Voldemort, the darkest wizard alive coming back to live, to a body, to hunt Harry.

Ron had gone pale. He had grown up with the horrors of what the darkest wizard alive could do. He had grown up with it, had lived it through his brothers, had no doubt seen what it still could do to his parents, hell Hermione knew that there was no way that someone could be known simply as 'He Who Must Not Be Named' without good reason. Hermione knew that she did not know the half of what Voldemort was capable of-Harry had lost both his parents, Ron had lived in an, world still haunted by what he had done and had Harry died that night-probably still would have done. Hermione saw all of this in this brief moment and then looked down at her hands as she thought back on all she had read in the early days where books were her friends.

There was always a chink in the armour. Even if it was a little chink in the armour.

"Your forgetting something" she said trying to remain calm as two fearful sets of eyes swivelled round to stare at her.

"Who's the one person that You Know Who was ever afraid of?"

Four eyes blinked at her. Hermione sighed internally.

"Dumbledore" she said feeling slightly relieved. She turned to face Harry and she knew in that moment what he was thinking, he was thinking if Snape got the stone he would give it to the man that tried to kill him, and Harry would be first on the list to die when he did.

"As long as Dumbledore is around Harry your safe, as long as Dumbledore's around you can't be touched"

Ron breathed again staring into the depths of the fire and Harry sank into the seat next to her and Hermione stared into the fire watching another log turn to ash and tried not to think about the stone that would grant immortal life, tried not to think of the darkest wizard alive coming back to a life, tried not to think of her best friend in danger or of the unicorn dead across the forest floor as someone tried to use it's blood in order to give something…monstrous a chance.

Instead she stared into the fire and then up at her bedframe for a long time wondering what would happen, if someone…anyone would make a move on the stone, and if she would have the courage to stand and fight against the darkness when they did.

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 **Next chapter should be up with this one so enjoy. **


	8. Chapter Eight

**Hi, so here is another chapter, i think this will be the final one before Christmas but i hope to have the last one up before new year. I think only one more chapter and then i will put this little story to bed.**

 **A big thank you to all of you-as i say this story is heavy on Hermione's thoughts not dialogue but i did keep some quotes in both my favourites from the books and the movie and a little interaction between her and Ron and then her and Snape which was fun to write-my headcannon was even though he was irritated by her he did see a part of Lily in her and perhaps that was why he tolerated her better than Harry and Ron.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Please Read and Review**

 **And i wish you all a very safe and happy Merry Christmas and if i don't post before a very Happy 2018!**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Eight

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There were times Hermione thought when great courage was needed. This was one of those times. The weeks spent after their misadventure in the forest were filled with exam revision and even Ron put his head to his books and busied himself with learning and Harry himself despite looking drained and a little thinner than before was turning to his books as well and forgetting that their Potions Master was actually a servant of Lord Voldemort which was easy to say in her head even if she didn't say it out loud for fear of Ron shushing her like a noisy cat.

The idea of Voldemort did frighten her of that she had to admit but Hermione in those days when she managed to snatch a few minutes to think over the stone and what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands couldn't see how he could get to Harry as long as Dumbledore was there. The headmaster they saw at dinner, breakfast and lunch like clockwork and he was always attentive to any student that asked him a question during that period but there was also a power that radiated from him that at times made him unapproachable.

Hermione didn't give the stone much thought however, she spent a long time revising her examinations. The practical's were a combination of skill and whatever they were asked on the day and therefore there was no point in going into detail with Harry and Ron about how they had done. She had begun to ask them one afternoon about their written papers but Harry had groaned through a mouthful of chicken pie and Ron had pointed his knife at her in a rather threatening manner and told her quite calmly to shut up least he make her feel ill.

But still the exams took place over two long weeks and Hermione ever in so much control about the outcome of her education found that she was actually nervous about her results. Ron told her in no uncertain terms after their Charms paper that there was no point because she would likely beat everyone including the Ravenclaws and become top of the class once more and even Harry seemed to agree but Hermione couldn't help but worry. These were different exams than the ones that they had previously studied for (well her and Harry) and she found that she was spending more time pouring over books of things that she wasn't sure they had covered in class in order to be prepared.

However, despite the fact that she was burying herself in her work she noticed that Harry was still white faced most of the time and now he was clutching his scar at night before he went to bed and she, and Ron had taken up the act of pretending not to notice least Harry put on a fake smile and pretend that nothing was wrong. Some nights Hermione wondered if that was what the next seven years were going to be like, wondering if Harry was ok, if his scar that symbolised his orphandom and fame all at the same time was hurting him and then lying through her teeth or being lied to whenever it was.

Whenever that thought came to mind she kicked the duvet off and reached for her revision notes.

But for a week or so, for one glorious week they had no thoughts of the stone. They were nice to Quirrell, none of them liked Snape anyway and he did not like them so that made very little difference and most of the time Ron and Harry would sneak off to the common room after lunch or dinner content to revise once they knew Fluffy was safe behind locked doors.

But she knew that they could cling to this pretence of normalcy for too long, the day would come when they would have to take a stand and that day was coming for them the day of their final exams when they had finished and were finally able to relax in front of the lake watching all the other students enjoy one golden afternoon of peace.

They were discussing Harry's scar. Finally he had told them what they had known for weeks now and that it was bothering him. Hermione personally thought it was a combination of nerves mixed with whatever stress Harry put himself under and she wanted him to see the nurse as soon as possible. Ron was too tired to disagree with her but she supposed that if someone knew something about cursed scars-if that was what this was-then he would know as much as she and Harry did-nothing.

However Harry as usual was thinking ahead, was always thinking more ahead than they were, was thinking constantly about the future and about the stone, about the man who had killed his parents and ruined his life coming back an immortal life and it was those thoughts-though Hermione and Ron did not know them yet that had him running up the lawn straight to Hagrid's muttering something about dragons and drink.

And then suddenly listening to Hagrid she began to see what Harry had seen. What Harry must have known, knowing Hagrid as well as he did, having the relationship with him that Hermione and Ron did not have and had the situation not been as serious as she could make out then she would have been annoyed that he had figured it out before she did but he was right. Hagrid had wanted nothing more than a dragon's egg, he had a weakness for drink and he had disclosed the one thing needed for someone to get the stone. Had it been Snape behind that hood? If it had been then he had all he needed to get the stone and bring back, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and then Hermione knew they were in trouble if trouble was really the word that you could use.

But still Hermione wasn't sure that Snape was the guy they were looking for. He was dangerous that much she would give Ron and he hated Harry with an unnerving passion, but something told her deep down that he wasn't the type to join the dark side if that was what this was. That once upon a time something had happened that had made Dumbledore trust him. He might be the least liked man in the entire world but she didn't think that he was evil. Ron might call her soft and too much of a teacher's pet but that was just her opinion and she was going to stick with it-perhaps silently until she was proven wrong.

She pondered this right up until she was lurking round the staff room door sent on some wild goose chase to see if Snape was there. It turned out he wasn't because Hermione need only turn her back and without warning or even a whisper there was a cold and somewhat not-surprised drawl of…

"Can I help you with something Miss Granger?"

She whirled around. Ron had come up with something regarding a lie and she was planning on sticking with it.

"I was wondering if I could speak to Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, I was worried I might have gotten a question wrong on the paper and I didn't know if it was rude or not to knock" she said willing herself not to look directly into Snape's eyes. Maybe Harry and Ron had a point-maybe he could read minds.

She thought she saw a flicker of some emotion on his face. She wasn't sure if he knew she was lying or if in that moment he reminded her of a past pupil that he didn't hate or something like that but he nodded curtly with an expression that changed to complete distain and irritation and then nodded.

"I will fetch him, wait here please"

Well Hermione thought feeling rather put out as well as gratified as she trudged her way back to the Common Room, at least she know knew that there was one exam that she had passed with flying marks. It didn't help with the Snape situation or the fact that McGonagall know knew they knew about the stone but at least if they decided to chuck her out she had some grounds to appeal.

I mean really how many eleven year olds got over 100% on their exam.

She knew the situation that they were in was catastrophic but really, she couldn't help but feel pleased about it.

* * *

And that was what led her to this point. This was really where the story started and it was from this point onwards that she told Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape what had happened. She had to you see, at the time she had been the only one conscious and it was her that had to tell the story-to make sure that they understood not only what they had done, but why they had had to do it.

Firstly they had snuck out again…Harry had the cloak back, Hermione had her notes, Ron had his nerve firmly in place. Harry had been all for going alone but they had both refused him, Ron knew first hand the terror that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named inspired and Hermione wasn't arrogant enough to believe that muggle borns would not be first on Voldemort's agenda. More to the point a part of her did wonder if Ron and Harry would get back alive without her and the other part of her didn't want to know.

They would see this through together, the three of them.

But first she had to petrify Neville.

Oh God.

"You're a little scary you know" Ron said in a slightly awed voice. "Brilliant, but scary"

He caught her eye as Harry busied himself with the cloak.

"You had to do it" he said gruffly. "Don't worry about it, if we survive this we'll have stopped something much worse and then they wont care all that much about this"

Hermine didn't comment on the fake carefree tone he adopted and instead nodded, pocketed her wand in her boot and allowed Harry to slip the cloak over her, usher them out the portrait hole and down the stairs until they reached the third corridor, she didn't speak again actually until they had pushed the heavy paw out of the way and were peering through the trapdoor into pure darkness. Ron was playing the flute when Harry turned to them and told them they still had time to leave if they wanted too.

Hermione wondered if they would ever turn away. She didn't think so, Ron rolled his eyes at her and she smiled feeling a little bit warmer the harp music low and soft in the corner. Harry it seemed was going to go for pure luck over a plan and throw himself down the hole and hope like hell for a soft landing.

Hermione winced but soon enough there was a shout.

"It's ok, it's a soft landing"

Ron nodded swore under his breath and then jumped without a second thought. Hermione followed and with a massive thud that she was sure jarred every bone in her body she collapsed on something wet and dank.

Devils Snare.

She would have been pleased to figure it out so quickly in order to work herself free before it managed to get a tight hold on her, had she not been terrified that it would kill Harry and Ron. Devil's Snare hated sunlight, all she had to do was…

"Light a fire?" Harry gasped.

"Yes" she said wringing her hands in panic. "But there's no wood"

"NO WOOD?" Ron yelled and something in his tone managed to shock Hermione back to her senses.

"Are you a witch or not?"

She could have kicked herself. Using the spell she had used at that match so long ago (or so it seemed) she lit a fire, the vines retreated and Harry and Ron were able to get to their feet Ron still grumbling.

"No wood, honestly woman"

The next room lead them to a key, a broomstick and Hermione's first real time flying. She staggered off the broom, Ron steadying her and decided there and then that she was never going to get back on one of those if she could help it.

Ron snorted when she muttered that and even Harry cracked a small grin, how they were doing this she didn't know but soon enough they were in a chess match, the first two obstacles down and only a few more in between them and the stone.

Then there was the chess game itself.

Then there was losing Ron.

Hermione screamed because in that moment she honestly thought Ron Weasley, the red headed boy with the dirt on his nose was dead. She moved to run to his side but Harry screamed at her to stay where she was and she stopped. They were still playing and she found that even after they had won and Harry and her were going forwards into the next chamber her eyes were still on Ron until the very last second and then she had to blink back tears.

She took a deep breath as they moved past the second troll, this was the final challenge she could feel it. Thank God she thought looking at the note, the riddle or whatever it was, this was something she could do.

Logic and potions. She could have almost hugged Professor Snape right now regardless of weather or not he was the evil they were trying to stop-just for this task alone, she loved a challenge always had and she knew that this was his challenge and she could do it. That wasn't to say it was without it's problems but this was something she had been doing long before she had magic and it was something she could do long after. This was comfortable.

Right up until Harry said he was going in alone.

A part of her was terrified, a part of her glad, while she thought it was mad for Harry to base his survival on luck she had to admit that a part of her wanted to be with Ron right now. She could get to Dumbledore or McGonagall or to someone and she could try and stop this. That didn't stop her hugging Harry. He was better than she was, braver, kinder, believed in things that she could not possibly believe in and above all he was more powerful than her, she believed that now more than ever as she turned her back on him and prayed to her own God and the magical ones-if they existed-that she would see him alive again.

It took her a while to wake Ron up, in fact she didn't, she sat stroking his hair terrified of moving him too much when she felt footsteps racing towards her, she stood up her wand in her hand no idea of what spell she would cast but it was Professor Dumbledore.

Hermione could have cried.

"No need for that Miss Granger" the old man said smiling kindly. "You've done wonderful, Harry's gone after him?"

She nodded and then he was gone, moving quicker than Hermione had ever seen him move.

There were footsteps behind her and she turned to see Professor Snape.

Her blood went so cold so fast she thought she might faint.

"Your supposed to be stealing the stone" she said in shock.

Professor Snape looking deeply irritated.

"Quirrell Miss Granger." He said bending down to check on Ron, "Really I would have expected better from you"

Quirrell had been…but he had…they had never even considered…Snape had not been threatening… _Quirrell?_

"Bloody Hell" Hermione said flatly watching as Snape put Ron on a conjured stretcher.

"Indeed" he said looking irritable.

"Come along then Granger, Hospital Wing"

"What about Harry?"

"Professor Dumbledore is more adapt at dealing with dark wizards Granger than you don't you think?"

Hermione fell into step next to him as they passed through the room with the keys all suspended now in mid-air. She was too tired, too worried and too high on adrenaline to realise what she was saying.

"Professor, If I may?"

"What Granger? You're in enough trouble already"

He sent Ron up through the trapdoor floating morbidly upwards and gestured that Hermione was to climb the ladder that was there, she pocketed her wand.

"That sir, was a bloody good riddle"

If she had really looked at her teacher then she would have seen the ghost of a smile on his face for a split second before his usual smooth mask was in place. However she was too busy forcing her tired and bruised limbs to climb the rope and therefore she missed the almost human way her Professor was acting.

She collapsed into a warm bed in the Hospital Wing took a sleeping draught with Ron and missed Harry's chaotic arrival.

Tomorrow and the next day after the story would be out, she would have to explain herself and the whole truth would be explained.

But as she fell asleep Hermione found that for once, she didn't care.

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 **And i hope you enjoy-Merry Christmas**

 **Next chapter should be up soon, it will be the final chapter-this story was initially planned to be ten chapters but was condensed for reasons to nine.**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Hi, so here is another chapter and this is the final chapter of this story. This was always designed to be a short one off story and it was great to cross this off my bucket-writing list.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine and certain dialogue as well as the characters belong to J. K Rowling.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And a massive thank you to all who have taken an interest in this story so far. Your kind words and interest means more than i can say. I wish you all a happy new year.**

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Tougher Than The Rest

Chapter Nine

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It seemed she had told this story forever. First it had been to Professor Dumbledore, then to Professor's McGonagall and Snape, then (most of the story) to the Weasley brothers when they had all traipsed in to see their sleeping brother and then once more to Professor McGonagall who had to do a full account of injuries of pupils in her house.

It had been her who had been tasked with the storytelling as Harry was still unconscious and for the first day so was Ron. He had suffered nothing but a concussion but Madam Pomfrey was taking no chances with them. Hermione had been prodded and poked and drank enough hot chocolate for her liking and now she was more than relieved to go back to her dormitory and the comfort of her own bed.

But of course it didn't stop there. Professor Dumbledore had told her with a small, kind smile that this was Hogwarts and in his long experience at the school he knew that the events that had taken place with the stone had been a completely guarded secret-therefore naturally the entire school had known about the stone, the three headed dog and the fact that their Defence Against the Dark Arts had disappeared when trying to steal it. Hermione was pretty sure Quirrell had not disappeared but had in fact been killed or perhaps arrested but she was sure that Professor Dumbledore must have his reasons and she didn't think that frightening half the student body was one of them.

But it meant that at last she was rehabilitated, Harry as well and people were coming over to talk to her, like she noted grimly the last few months hadn't happened. She shook her head whenever that happened remembering those months were people would shoot them dirty looks and they were made to feel like scum. She had no patience she found to deal with those people, not for the first two days with Harry unconscious and Ron in the Hospital Wing due to his heavy concussion.

However the Weasley Boys had taken up some sort of strange guarding post. The twins would sit with her at dinner, Percy in the Common Room while they both worked on their homework and the three of them would glare at whoever it was that came over for a first hand account of what had happened. On the second day of this though Ron came back and sat with them. He was still very pale but no sooner had he came in then Fred had set up the chess set and Percy was passing her a book he thought she might like on the history of other wizarding schools and the five of them were pretending like nothing had happened. It was nice she noted, like having a family…no not a family…brothers. She had been an only child, both of her parents had fought for their careers and had decided that one was enough. She had never begrudged them that decision, she had liked being the centre of attention but she couldn't help but wish sometimes in those stolen hours that she spent with the Weasley family listening to their stories and enjoying their company and laughter-that she might have at least one sibling to share this story with at home.

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On the third day after their mad dash for the stone, Seamus Finnegan who had been sent to the Hospital Wing after an unfortunate instance in Charms where his second hat and his eyebrows had been set on fire came hurtling down the Great Hall until he landed in front of her and Ron and said in two great breathes that he had just heard that Harry was awake and Professor Dumbledore had just left.

Hermione and Ron were off to see him moving so fast that they sent Seamus stumbling into the table and had accidently knocked pumpkin juice all over Lavender Brown. Which Hermione thought viciously later that night-was punishment for what that girl had put her through the last month.

They nearly fell through the door to see Harry who was awake and alive and did they mention alive? Madam Pomfrey and he seemed to be involved in a conversation that was rapidly turning into an argument. Harry took one look at them and grinned, she followed his gaze and then gave a rather defeated sigh.

"Fine, five minutes but then I want the both of you to leave him to get some proper decent rest"

"He's been asleep for three days" Ron muttered but Hermione elbowed him least he get them thrown out before they had even seen Harry.

Finally she turned and walked away and made a deliberate show of shutting the door in a vain effort to give them some privacy. Hermione grinned and then as soon as the door was shut the two of them forgot that they were in a place supposed to be giving people peace and ran towards Harry. There were hugs and then they both sat down on the bed. Harry looked exhausted, he had a scratch mark on his head and he looked like he had been through hell and back, his hands were bandaged but he had a peace about him that Hermione hadn't seen before. A quiet confidence that came when you knew that regardless you did the right thing and you finally got some peace of mind to some of the questions you so desperately needed answers to.

And Hermione knew that Harry had a lot of questions that needed answers.

However right now so did they and so help her after the night she had, had nearly being strangled by Devil Snare, nearly being taken twice on a chessboard and drinking something that she had hoped and trusted wasn't going to kill her-not to mention the heroics that Harry and Ron had decided to go with the previous nights. Hermione wanted answers as to why it they had got the wrong professor and how Dumbledore and Harry had stopped him, how and if Voldemort had been involved.

Harry however decided not to wait for them to ask the questions. He took one look at their avid faces and instead began to talk and Hermione followed him with rapt attention only half aware that Ron was sitting on the edge of the bed and had she moved her hand to the left-her fingers would have brushed his.

However, the story Harry told was full of twists and turns. When he explained how Voldemort had been in the back of their Professor's head Hermione screamed unable to stop herself and Ron shouted "Bloody Hell" so loudly she nearly jerked off the bed.

They had been in a classroom with the darkest wizard alive? They had sat tests under him on a subject that had almost been invented if not revised because of him?

Hermione was suddenly very glad she had never acted out of turn in class. She was also very glad that she did not have parents who knew the horrors of what this wizard had done. Somehow she didn't think they would be impressed by it. Ron looked positively horrified. No wonder Professor Dumbledore was letting the story get wilder and wilder in the Hogwarts rumour mill. One whiff of the truth and Hermione knew the entire student body would be up in an armed panic.

Finally Harry-after giving them a moment to apricate the shock of just who they had been sharing a classroom with-told them about his conversation with their Headmaster. Hermione got the impression that there were some details he was leaving out but she didn't want to press and for once Ron got the memo and didn't comment on them either. Like she had said before, like they had both always known, Harry had questions stemming from childhood and those answers-if he had gotten any at all from anyone-should remain private until he was ready to tell them.

"So the stone was destroyed after all" Ron said finally. He shook his head.

Hermione however couldn't help but feel very glad that thing was destroyed. Something like that, with that much power was too dangerous for anyone to be around. It had already gotten someone killed, had almost resurrected the darkest wizard known to man and had nearly cost her in their attempts to stop it her two best friends.

No she thought to herself. She was very glad the damn thing was gone. Good riddance in her opinion.

She pulled herself out of his thoughts just to miss Harry's comment about what their Headmaster had said but to catch Ron's rather impressed (if not rather rude) comment on "I always said he was off his rocker"

Someday, between the two of them Hermione thought, she was going to get chronic eye strain from rolling her eyes too much.

Boys.

But she thought to herself as she tucked herself under the covers. They were her friends…they were her boys…

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The next week passed in a blur. Their results were out. Hermione was rather pleased that she had beaten everyone in the year. Ron and Harry were pleased that they had passed everything and Ron especially with semi-decent grades. Of course they had lost the race for the House Cup but after days of nagging, she found out that Harry was going to be able to make it to the feast after all and that was all that matter.

"You alright Ron?" he said looking better than he had done in weeks-as he sat down in the middle of the table.

"Alright?" Ron said grinning "You?"

"Alright-Hermione?"

She smiled at him. "Never better"

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet at that point to begin his announcements. Hermione decided that for once she was going to tune them out. She knew Slytherin had won-she didn't care to listen to them.

But she found herself dragged out of her internal debate over weather or not she wanted pie or cake for desert when Professor Dumbledore mentioned that he had a few last minutes points to award.

Where had that come from?

Surely he didn't mean…

No…he couldn't…

"First to Mr Ronald Weasley" and now Ron was the shade of a tomato with bad sunburn. Hermione grinned. "For the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen in many years…fifty points"

The table exploded.

"Second" Dumbledore said when the noise had quietened down. "To Miss Hermione Granger"

Hermione ducked her head down as everyone turned to look at her. Didn't Dumbledore know that they hadn't done anything-that she hadn't have done anything. She had not been part of the heroics that had nearly killed her two best friends.

"For the cool use of intellect when others were in grave peril…fifty points"

Hermione would later say when asked that she did not burst into tears as people hugged her. it would be a lie of course but it was one that she was going to stick with no matter what. Besides there were worse lies to tell.

"And finally to Mr Harry Potter" Dumbledore began once the hall had quieted down, by this point it was silent. "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor sixty points"

Those that could count while screaming which was essentially her and perhaps Oliver Wood knew that they were tied with Slytherin.

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies" Professor Dumbledore continued. "But a great deal more to stand up to your friends. Therefore I award ten points, to Mr Neville Longbottom"

Neville disappeared under the pile of people hugging him. Hermione wiped her eyes. They had won the House Cup.

That night in bed she thought that despite all the hardships, the pain and the suffering, the loneliness and the struggles this year had been worth it.

This life had been worth it.

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And she soared through on that for the rest of the week, the end of term, the last night, the train ride (through meeting Harry's Aunt and Uncle-truly rude people) and through saying goodbye to her best friends.

Finally she made it through the crowd to her parents.

"Hello darling" her mother said opening her arms and Hermione fell into them.

She had missed this.

"Good term?" her father asked loading the trunk into the car. Hermione beamed. "The best"

"Glad you went?" her Dad asked.

"Yes" she replied beaming.

"Good" he said hugging her before he opened the car door. "I knew I didn't have to worry-that's our girl there, tougher than the rest of them put together"

And perhaps he was right Hermione thought. Perhaps she was just simply tougher than the rest.

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 **And here it is, the final chapter, hope you enjoyed and i will see you all in this fandom very soon (i hope)**

 **Thank you all. **


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